According to visiting captain Aiden Markram, South Africa’s defeat in the third Twenty20 International against India was caused by both India’s new-ball bowlers and his own team’s inability to handle the general challenge of greater dot balls in a low-scoring match.
South Africa was left reeling at 7 for 3 in the first four overs by the pace duo of Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana. The tourists never recovered from this setback, falling to a seven-wicket loss after scoring just 117. India now lead the five-match series 2-1.
“They got the ball in the right areas and before you know it, you’re four, five, six down. For sure Arshdeep bowled really well. Both the new ball bowlers bowled really well,” Markram said at the post-match press conference.
“You can have friendly conditions, but ultimately the bowlers still have to land the ball in the right areas and that’s exactly what they did.
“You have to give credit to them for that. From ball number one, they were straight on it and made life really difficult. You have to give a lot of credit to them for that,” he added.
As he reflected on the loss, Markram recognized the difficult circumstances but emphasized the necessity of flexibility.
“Yeah, it’s a tough one. You’ve got your captain’s cap on, you’re always a fan of it because I feel like you’re always in the game. If you’ve got your batting cap on, you’re obviously one flat wicket.
“It’s a tricky balance. The conditions were tough with the time of year and the cold playing a role, but I don’t really see a problem with it. Low-scoring games can be great to watch and real nail-biters, there’s a time and a place for everything,” he added.
“It actually feels quite tough to score just because naturally the fielders are always going to be tighter in the ring. They’re not going to be sitting back because they know it’s tough. You generally end up facing a lot more dot balls than you would on a flat wicket.
“It comes with its own unique way of having pressure out there. Each of them pose a very different challenge, but one that’s all part of batting I suppose,” Markram said when asked if a low scoring game eases the pressure of going for the big shots.
